More than two months earlier and in less than half the time of last year’s decision, Student Union passed its 2013-14 general budget with only one dissenting vote. Despite some concerns voiced previously about the increases in the budget, the general budget passed Treasury unanimously (16-0) Wednesday night less than an hour after discussion began.

While many universities are cutting back on job preparation services, Washington University’s career centers continue to expand. A recent USA Today story reported that budgets of career centers nationwide fell by about 16 percent in the past year.

While flying home for the winter break, I noticed, as I’m sure many of you did, literally hundreds of soldiers wandering the airport in uniform on their way home. For me, this meant that I was reminded of my feelings toward the military and the way in which our country uses our armed forces around the world.

Senior Ammar Karimjee may be the first student in recent history to allocate Student Union’s full annual budget of more than $2.5 million twice, pending a decision by Student Union’s executive council.

$2,563,617. It might be less than one ten-thousandth of what Obama’s campaign had to allocate for 2012, but it is the amount that will fund Washington University’s Student Union for the entire span of the 2012-13 year.

For the price we pay, we expect a great deal of benefits from the University. For the most part, the school delivers. But imagine if Washington University consisted of unresponsive teachers, poor job placement, fewer services, and unnecessary departments that yielded little benefit to students. And, on top of that, they asked for a substantial tuition increase.

The proposed Student Union budget for 2011-2012 will be presented to Senate and Treasury on Wednesday for a vote. The joint SU session will be held in Simon Hall at 9 p.m. and will be open to all students.